Chapter 437: The Finishing Touches

[Chapter 437: The Finishing Touches]

After Eric Williams turned down the private offer proposed by Disney shareholders, the shareholders decided to hand over the negotiations with Firefly Films and Viacom solely to Disney's management. Michael Eisner, eager to protect his position, went to great lengths to assist Viacom in every way possible. Whenever there was any contact between Disney and Firefly Films in the negotiations, the Viacom team was always the first to know.

Initially, when Michael Eisner followed Viacom in making a public statement, the Firefly team had anticipated this and was well-prepared. Once the Disney shareholders made the irreversible decision to sell Disney, negotiations with Viacom and Firefly Films accelerated rapidly. After several rounds of bidding, the price for a full acquisition skyrocketed to $5.6 billion within just two weeks.

This amount exceeded Firefly's initial offer by $2.1 billion, marking a 60% premium over Disney's market value of $3.5 billion. Historically, most hostile takeovers would deter once the premium surpassed 50%. However, neither Firefly nor Viacom showed any signs of backing down. Their public and private exchanges grew increasingly fierce.

Given this situation, several Wall Street analysis firms issued risk warnings about the acquisition. Some companies that had planned to join the bidding quietly tossed their acquisition proposals into the trash upon witnessing the fierce competition.

On January 14, 1992, after months of grueling negotiations, Disney, Firefly Films, and Viacom finally reached a preliminary agreement on acquisition terms, with the final bidding scheduled for January 20.

...

After six months of exhaustive effort, the Firefly acquisition team could finally take a short break. However, Eric was still busy preparing for Firefly's 1992 film projects. Following the success of Dumb and Dumber, multiple film studios sought out Jim Carrey for collaborations. Though Dumb and Dumber featured a dual lead, both critics and audiences praised Jim Carrey's performance, while his co-star Jeff Daniels received a more moderate reception. With the film breaking the $100 million mark at the box office, Jim Carrey's remuneration skyrocketed to $5 million.

As his star power grew, so did his expectations. Initially, he would have accepted any opportunity, but now he felt he was being shortchanged. In an interview with a Hollywood publication, Jim Carrey openly expressed dissatisfaction with the five-year option contract he felt "pressured" into signing. However, whether it was Eric or the people at Firefly, they weren't overly concerned. The option contract had been drafted without any legal loopholes by Firefly's dedicated legal team, meaning that if Jim Carrey wanted to breach it, he'd have to cough up a $100 million penalty, even if it meant taking the case to the Supreme Court.

To prevent Jim Carrey from causing mutiny with every movie, Eric offered him a $10 million deal for two films -- a fair deal in his eyes. Eric never envisioned getting something for nothing. However, when Elisabeth personally negotiated this deal, she found Jim Carrey was unavailable, as his agent, Carl Maxson, informed her that he was on vacation in Hawaii.

Elisabeth understood that Jim was aiming for a higher price, even feeling that Eric's offer was already on the pricey side. Thus, she left Jim Carrey hanging for the time being. Meanwhile, Firefly successfully secured the rights for The Mask and snagged Tom Shadyac, the writer of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, from Warner Bros. Eric immediately gave the green light to both films, moving them into development.

...

At the Playa Vista studio, Eric led a few people on a tour of the digital effects studio. Initially, Digital Domain's headquarters were in Venice Beach, but after the Playa Vista studio was completed, they relocated. This move not only saved significant rental costs but also placed the studio close to large soundstages, making work more efficient.

"This is the latest visual effects software developed by our R&D center, called Houdini," Stan Winston explained. "It's primarily used for creating shots of buildings being destroyed." He pulled up a related scene from the computer, and Eric and the others gathered around to see a cinematic screen lazily cracking under the force of a hurricane, prompting subdued gasps of amazement.

"This is just one completed segment. There's another part with an entire villa being torn apart, but that still isn't finished," Stan added before shifting the display to the software interface and stepping aside.

A slender man in his thirties seated himself in an office chair and awkwardly manipulated the computer to explore the software's options. "The software functions are still being refined, but it's significantly better than the initial version," Stan remarked.

Eric noticed the middle-aged man, who seemed unfamiliar yet intrigued by the software, and joked, "Roland, you're not thinking about switching careers to become an effects artist, are you? We just signed a contract, and I can assure you I'm not letting you go."

Laughter erupted at Eric's joke, and Roland Emmerich stood up chuckling, "I think I'm better off sticking to directing." James Cameron, standing next to Eric, chimed in, "I believe there's no fundamental difference between being a director and an effects artist; we're both creating visuals, just the processes are a bit different."

Although James Cameron hadn't invested in Digital Domain at that moment, his strong friendships with Eric and Stan, paired with his passion for film technology, ensured he regularly visited to "sample" new visual effects offerings without curiosity like Roland Emmerich.

After some light banter, Eric suggested, "Alright, having seen all that, there's a cafe nearby where we can take a break." They moved into the cafe; since it was work hours, the place was unstaffed, allowing Eric and the other six to gather around a long table.

...

In addition to Roland Emmerich and James Cameron, the other three attendees were Jon Landau, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Jan de Bont -- all of whom would become well-known directors or producers in Hollywood due to Eric's recent efforts.

James Cameron and Jerry Bruckheimer had already achieved success; after completing Terminator 2, Cameron's signing with Firefly felt inevitable. Conversely, Jerry Bruckheimer had made a name for himself as the producer of the infamous Top Gun. His rapid rise to fame was now marred by Tom Cruise's underperformer, Days of Thunder, which resulted in Bruckheimer's contract with Paramount being terminated.

At that point in time, Jerry Bruckheimer's future golden partner, Michael Bay, was merely an inexperienced music video director. Eric thought it was premature to promote him to directing. However, he signed Bruckheimer without hesitation, recognizing his proficiency in producing large-scale films, a talent Firefly desperately needed.

Jon Landau, Jan de Bont, and Roland Emmerich weren't notably famous yet, but all had spent several years in Hollywood, proving their abilities. Plus, Eric had fitting projects for all of them, so he signed them collectively.

Once the server left after serving up coffees, Eric spoke up, "After seeing all that, I assume no one has any concerns about the scripts I've given you?"

All but Stan Winston, who was leisurely sipping his coffee, nodded in agreement. James Cameron opined, "Eric, while the adaptation script you sent me is good, I'm not eager to start working right away. I want to enjoy life -- I'm no workaholic like you. Besides, Arnold has already committed to a project with Sony, and he won't be free until next year."

"I know that; I hadn't planned for you in this year's production schedule," Eric replied.

"Um..."

"Ha ha ha..."

Jerry Bruckheimer interjected, "Eric, I remember you've always had Jeffrey as your producer; why would you choose me for Jurassic Park?"

"Jeffrey has to manage the company and won't be personally producing anymore, at most he'll have a producer's credit," Eric clarified, looking at Roland Emmerich. "Roland, what's your take on the script for Deep Impact?"

Glancing at Eric, Emmerich -- aided by Eric's outline -- found the script to be exceptionally poor. He hesitated and asked, "Eric, do you want my honest opinion?"

"Of course," Eric nodded.

"Well, I think this script is quite lacking. The main storyline revolves around humanity facing existential threats, yet the first thirty minutes concerns the lead character getting caught in a high-profile scandal -- such a disconnect."

James Cameron, overhearing their discussion, interjected, "Eric, is that your concept for the film about a comet hitting Earth?"

Eric confirmed and briefly recounted the completed script.

Cameron then shook his head, mirroring Roland's sentiments, "I share Roland's feelings; while people often find scandals intriguing, using that as a backdrop in a disaster epic is just too clumsy."

Jan de Bont, who had been quiet, finally spoke up, "I worked as a cinematographer on a low-budget sci-fi film seven years ago; I believe it had an effective setup, using familial love or the simple lives of everyday characters for contrast could dramatically draw audiences into the story."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Seeing that not a single person endorsed the original script, Eric wasn't upset; he smiled, "I know, but it certainly means a significant overhaul of the story."

"In that case, let's scrap it entirely," James Cameron said without hesitation, "for such a compelling disaster movie backdrop to be wasted on a lousy story -- it would be a pity."

"I personally feel slight modifications could enhance the narrative," chimed in the plump Jon Landau at that moment.

Steering everyone's attention, Jon continued, "Look, the lead character keeps tracking an official involved in a scandal using a codename originally meant for a woman; what if we change that codename to the comet?"

Eric's eyes lit up, while James Cameron slammed his hand on the table, "That's even better! Let's modify the setup a tad, removing the scandal element. The White House, in an effort to prevent public panic, hides the news and adopts a woman's name as a codename for the comet. The official who was misconstrued as embroiled in the scandal and forced to resign actually seeks to disclose the truth to the public, only to have his proposal rejected, leading to his resignation out of frustration."

Jerry Bruckheimer nodded in agreement, adding, "Eric, that revision sounds great. While the public always has their gripes about the federal government -- full of conspiracy theories -- they still maintain some level of positive aspiration toward higher authorities, and this setup resonates with those subconscious expectations."

Eric chuckled, "Then let's go with that; Jim, Jon, would you like to add your names to the credits?"

Cameron and Jon Landau shook their heads simultaneously, both aware Eric was joking. In Hollywood, with one-third of scripts fraught with credit disputes, getting a credit required contributions of over 30% to the script.

With the conversation flowing, after Deep Impact, Eric shared the developing scripts for True Lies, Jurassic Park, and Speed with the group, which sparked a wealth of inspiration.

As evening fell, the group parted ways, first sending Cameron and the others off while Eric prepared to drive back to Malibu but was stopped by Stan Winston.

"Eric, there's something I need to discuss that I couldn't mention while they were here," Stan motioned towards an office nearby. "Let's head back to discuss it."

Observing Stan's serious expression, Eric nodded, gave the driver a few instructions, and returned to the office with Stan.

*****

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